BRUCE COUNTY COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 13

BRUCE COUNTY COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the Bruce County Council, held on the sth, was attended by Crs Boyd (in the chair), Begg, King, Ilitchon, Clark, Bell, Gardyne, Haggart, Driver, Russell, and Scott. engineer’s report. The following report on the state of the roads and the progress of various works throughout the county was submitted b\ tho engineer (Mr J. H. Bateman) : Hoads.-—The clay roads in the county are in a very soft condition, and some are badly cut up with the traffic, whilst others are being damaged by sledges cuttng into the surface and making channels for the water to run down and scour out the roadway. This is a practice wnic i should be stopped as far as possible. Works.—A break occurred in the river bank at the lower end of the Crescent, and has been repaired during the moiitli. The culvert at Mr D. Russell’s, Caudletown, which was broken down, has been replaced with one of 9in pipes, two culverts of bin pipes have been put in above the ouarry on the Louden’s Gully road, and a culvert of 9in pipes is required at the top of the hill on the same road. A stone culvert on the main road above Stirling broke down, and is being replaced by one of 9in pipes. Three portions of the main road between Milton and Crichton have had the water-tables ploughed out and the side track straightened up. Maintenance metal has been spread on various roads durin the month. Stone has been taken out of the quarry on the roadside at liarnsgo Hat without the P® r ” mission of the Council, and the road has been cut up with the carting. Ihis road requires a lot of maintenance metal to put it in order. Notice boards have been put on the Lovell’s Flat bridge (main road), as it is considered unsafe for heavy traffic. A notice board has also been put up at Porter's ford warning any person against taking soil from any county road without permission in writing. The estimated cost of shifting the road at the Waitahuna bridge on to the proper road-line by putting in three culverts and filling in two small creeks will be £l2. Application has been made to the Government for a vote of £125 (pound for pound) for the metalling of the lower Crescent road, and for £250 (pound for pound) for river protection at Stirling. Twenty-four bushels of poisoned grain have been mixed during the month and most of it taken away. Cr Russell moved the adoption of the engineer’s report. Tins was seconded by Cr°Driver and carried. correspondence. Communications were received from the Collector of Customs, Dunedin, stating that 470 z of gold had been received from the Bruce County for the month of April and 270 z for May. W. J. Douglas (Clarendon) wrote asking the council to put a culvert in a small gully on the road leading into his property, and also to clear the goree off the road line. He further asked that all the gates on his roads should be opened.— Mr Douglas waited on the council and explained the position with regard to bis requirements in the matter of opening the roads. He stated that he did not see the use of a settler owning 2000 or 3000 acres if he could not open the roads through them to the public. At present he had been blocked by an adjoining landholder, and was forced to open and close seven gates within a quarter of a mile. —It was decided that the member for the riding (Cr Driver) and the engineer should visit the locality and report to the next meeting of the council. The Hon. W. H. Herries (Minister rf “Railways) wrote acknowledging the council's communication la regard to the danger of level crossings. He stated that the matter was being reported on by the department’s district engineers, and would then be carefully gone into with a view to minimising the risks attachable to these crossings.—Received. H. M‘Neill, junr (Circle Hill) wrote on behalf of the people of that locality askLnn' that the corner in the road at Mr Hagen’s might be modified and that a few” chains of metal might be put on the cutting at Mr Foster’s property. Left to Cr Russell and the engineer to report at next meeting. J. A. Stewart (Balclutha) wrote stating that the ratepayers in North Balclu'.ha urgently desired' to have something done to°the footpath past their residences, and offerino- a suhsidv of £5 towards the cost of repairs.—Cr Begg said the offer was a very liberal one, and he thought the council ehould do something to help the residents. He would move that an expenditure of £l2 on a pound for pound basis should be authorised. —Cr King seconded the motion, which was carried. W. J. Johnstone (Clarendon) wrote stating that he desired to purchase the road leading through his property “o Mr H R-oulston’s and asking for a quotation for the same. —Request declined.

The secretary of the I'uapek?uCounty Council wrote asking the connfffto contribute £27 (half-cost with itself) towards the upkeep of main boundary roads between the two counties. —On tlie motion of Cr Kiim it was decided that the council did not" fee! justified in granting the request. He stated that he thought those frequent requests from the Tuapeka Council were very unfair and had been refused before. Cr Hitohon: It has become a sort of chronic mania with them.

HASBOROUGH ROAD TO REMAIN CLOSED. Mr F. J- Ramsay (town clerk, Balclutha) ■wrote staling that at the last meeting of his council a deputation had been received from the Balclutha Motor Association in connection with the opening of Hasborougb road for motor traffic. The deputation had offered £4O towards the cost of fencing the road and making it safe for motor traffic, and also agreed to submit to any regulations governing speed that the borough and the county might impose. His council had regarded the opening of the road in a favourable light, and he desired to know what the county council ,was prejiared to do in the matter. In connection with this matter a letter

was also received from tire Kaitangata branch of the New Zealand Farmers Union forwarding a copy of the following resolution which it had passed : —“ That this meeting of farmers, who are most concerned, protests against the proposed opening of tne Stirling to Balclutha River bank road to motor traffic. The Chairman stated that as this matter concerned his- riding he desired to place the position before councillors. He was personally in favour of opening the road for two reasons. In the first place the road round the other way was impassable in wet weather; and secondly, motor traffic was an increasing quantity, and in time it would be recognised that no roads should be closed against motor traffic. He thought the county engineer and the borough engineer should report on the matter, with a view to ascertaining whether or not a fence would provide the public with a sufficient safeguard, so far as danger from the river was concerned. If that danger was removed from the road by a substantial fence, then a great many of the objections that had been raised against the opening of the road would be removed. However, the ratepayers in his riding had objected very strongly, and they viewed the matter in a very serious light. They considered that as the road was very narrow, fast motor traffic would be a source ofgreat danger. He was, therefore, in the peculiar position of having to go against his own inclinations and support the policy of his ratepayers.

Cr Haggart said that the ratepayers in li;s riding were also very much against tho opening of the road, while those who desired to open it were ratepayers in neither of the ridings concerned. They should therefore pay more attention to the safety of their own ratepayers rather than give way to the owners of a few motor cars in Balclutha. He would oppose the opening of the road until a poll of the ratepayers had been taken on the question. The council had closed the road in the first instance, and it would have io be straightened and widened before it could safely be re-opened. Cr King concurred in the views expressed by the previous speaker. Cr Begg moved: “That the engineer be asked to prepare a report for next meeting as to the,state of the road.” If it could he made safe the council had no right to keep it closed; but he thought a speed-limit should be fixed.

Cr Driver seconded the motion. Cr Russell said he was not in favour of the motion as it would only mean a waste of time. They all knew what the road was like, and that its narrow condition made it most dangerous for motor traffic. He would move as an amendment: “That the council does not feel justified in opening the road to motor traffic, as the danger of accidents would be too great.” Cr Haggart seconded this amendment, and on being put to the meeting it was carried by a large majority. GENERAL. The Finance Committee reported that the receipts for the past month had amounted to £291 17s lid and the expenditure to £647 16s 7d.—Adopted. The Ranger reported that he had__ imjKnmded 20 head of cattle and 15 horses during the past month.—Adopted. It was decided to notify a ratepayer that if he again blocked the council’s culvert on the Matau to Stirling road legal proceedings would be instituted. Cr Russell reported that a special committee from the County Council and the Milton Borough Council had met Mr M‘Gi'll in regard to the alteration to the White bridge at the south end of the town. Mr M‘Gill had merely protested against the bridge being made shorter, ’the committee had come to the conclusion that if ‘.he bridge wertT kept in accordance with the plans drawn up by the engineer there would be ample room for water-way in time of Hood and that Mr M'Gill’s property would suffer no damage.—-Cr Scott said that the proposed decrease in the number of piles in the bridge would more than make up for the lessened length of the bridge and would allow for a sufficient water-way. — It was decided to adhere to the proposed plans for the bridge. Cr Hitchon introduced the matter of the damage that was being done to the county’s roads by heavy traffic, and it was decided that the by-laws enforcing the payment of taxes by the drivers of heavily-laden vehicles should he put into operation. Cr Hitchon asked that the matter of pushing on the Uienore bridge be inquired into. It had been hung up for some time, and the council should have accepted tenders for the work two months ago.—On the motion of Cr Driver it was decided that the matter should be brought under the notice of the member for the district (the Hon. James Allen). Cr King moved that tenders be called for two teams for grading purposes throughout the county, as the roads in his riding, at any rate, were in a disgraceful condition. The time was now opportune for carrying out a work of that kind, and it conjd be done very economically over the county as a whole.—Cr Driver seconded the motion.—The Chairman suggested that tenders he called for a sixhorse team for the big grader and that it be given three months’ work.—The motion was carried in this form. Cr King suggested that the council should take some action in regard to preventing the owners of heavy traction engines from using the roads when they were in a soft condition.—Cr Driver said he agreed with Cr King in the main, but if such a proposal were adopted it would impose great inconvenience upon the farmers.—As there was no motion before the meeting the discussion ended shortly afterwards. TENDERS The following tenders were accepted : James Ferguson, formation and metalling at Table Hill, for £95 ss; W. A. Allan, for grading, forming, and metalling of Mount Stuart-Hillcnd road, for £81: W. A. Allan, for the formation of 47 chains of metal at £5 per chain—accepted up to 40 chains; J. Thomson, for 28 chains of metalling between Hollamby’s house

and Hutton's bridge at £2 1% per chain; Thomas Wilson, for the carting of 200 tons of metal from the Kaitangata Railway Station to the Telegraph road, at 2s per ton ; T. E. Andrews, for the formation of the Lakeside road between Clarendon and Berwick, in the sum of £ll2 10s; John Higgie, for 42 chains formation and metalling at Loudens Gully, in the sum of £l9l 2s: H. Cook, for 40 chains formation on the Blackburn Creamery road, at £3 15s per chain, and also for 20 chains of formation on the same road at £4 4s per chain.